Thursday, May 28, 2015

Private apartments or hotels/hostels - advantages and disadvantages

Apartments for longer and shorter stay became very popular form of accommodation in recent years. Although they are strong competition to classical facilities like hotels and hostels, still do not lose their role in the world of tourism. What should we expect from this kind of accommodation and what is different from hotels and hostels?


ADVANTAGES

Privacy and Anonymity

Private apartments guarantee peace, privacy and anonymity for their guests. Hotels and hostels are busy places with constant murmurs, talks and noise. Sometimes it is very hard to have peace and rest if you stay in hostels full with young people, students, or excursions looking for a good time and party. No one will restricted or legitimize guests in private apartments, as long as they respect house rules.

Services

Services that are offered in the hotel (gym, car wash, beauty treatments and restaurants) can be find cheaper and even on some cases with higher quality in the city of stay. Especially this is the case with local restaurants and bars. Owners of the apartments usually give valuable advises to their guest where to find good restaurant in the neighborhood. If the guests want to cook their own food, and that is very hard to do in hotels. Apartments usually are equipped with all kitchen appliances and visitors can prepare food tastier and cheaper. In hotels meals are served during fixed hours, but in the apartments for short stay guest have flexibility to eat when they wanted, even in 3 o’clock in the morning.




DISADVANTAGES

Reservations

The efficient reservation is one thing in the hotel we take for granted. Situation with smaller private apartments can be very tricky sometimes. Often is not possible to make early reservation weeks or months in advance. Owners avoid accepting reservations in advance for shorter stay, because they can lose some longer reservation.

Capacity

Bigger groups of visitors cannot find enough large apartments for more people. It is impossible for them to organize some business meetings or congresses in one single apartment and have to find 2, 3 or more apartments for entire group. Hotels have advantage because they have large number of identical rooms can accommodate big groups of visitors, fitness centers, swimming pools, saunas, restaurants, laundry, big congress rooms equipped with printers, scanners, copying machines and other office materials,  etc. Most of the apartments have telephone and internet connection, but rarely office space.


Services

In hotels, maids clean rooms and make beds every day, but apartments usually are cleaned once a week. Receptionists, waiters or house cleaners do not exist in the apartments. Some guests expects from their hosts to be all of this Private apartments offered Iron, hair dryer, clean sheets and towels, but shampoo, soaps, napkins are not included in offer. Also, level of hygiene is not uniform in all flats. In some is remarkable, but sometimes in others, it isn’t on high level.

Parking

Every respectable hotel has garage or parking places in their yards, often physically secured. Most of the apartments have limited capacities or do not have parking space at all. If parking space is available, the visitors have to pay extra fee. In Belgrade, it is strictly prohibited to park on public spaces, and police are very efficient in hauling out improper-parked vehicles.


On the end, everyone chooses what suits him most.


Hotels are good solution if visitors do not want to think about cooking, laundry or other everyday trifles. If they seek for quiet family atmosphere and want to experience the environment in a way that they do residents of Belgrade, private apartments can be significantly better option. And maybe most important fact is: apartments are lot cheaper.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about renting apartments for short stay in Belgrade





Apartmentsfor a short stay experienced tremendous growth in popularity in Belgrade. Its existence complete the offer of accommodation capacities, in addition to traditional capacities like hotels, hostels, camps. We listed some of most common questions that visitors asked.

Which is the period of renting apartments for short stay?

Apartments can be rented:
  • on a daily basis,
  • per day,
  • for a few days,
  • month and
  • a few months
Is it possible to prepare food in the apartment?


This is one of the main advantages of private apartments. They usually have fully equipped kitchen equipped with all necessary household appliances. Just to avoid misunderstandings, refrigerators are empty, but it is possible to arrange with owners to put some food before guest arrival

What about clean towels and bed sheets, how often they are changed?
Clean towels, bed sheets and blankets are understood. Usually, bed sheets are changed once a week, and towels can be changed as needed, but those can be renegotiated with the owners.
What about cleaning the apartments?
Guests can count on clean apartments before arrival. Additional cleaning while guest are staying can be arranged, but must be paid by guests.

Is it possible to invite friends in the apartment?
Of course, that is the main advantages of apartments before hotels and hostels.
Is there phone and internet connection in the apartments?
In most cases there is a phone and the fast internet connections, such as ADSL, wireless or cable internet.
Who will pay for any damages?
The guests are required to maintain the apartment, fixtures and installations and have to compensate damages they caused.
What happens if the guests lost the apartment key?
Cost of replacing locks and making new keys is on their behalf.
Pats?
In most of the cases, pats are not allowed, but of course, owners are very flexible and arrangements can be make.
At what time guest can come and leave the apartments?
In any time! Flexibility is huge advantage, it is possible to arrange with the owners arrival in early mornings, of late night hours, often they wait guests and personally give them keys of the apartment. You can’t find that option with hotels. At the end of the stay, keys can be handed to the apartment owner or at the previously agreed place.


At the end, few words about payment
Payment is in most cases in advance, when guests takes the keys. It is possible to pay partially, but always in advance for the days ahead. Payments can be made in cash and credit cards.


What includes in the price of the apartment?
·         stay in the apartment
·         cleaning
·         overheads (electricity, heating, water, etc),
·         telephone in local net,
·         internet and cable TV











Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Best of Belgrade

Belgrade is a tourist destination, visited by increasing number of tourists every year. If you have decided to visit our capital and enjoy your stay, here's what you need to do to make your days spent in Belgrade remained in a good memory:

  • get informed about transportation
  • make a plan about things and destinations to visit





When it comes to accommodation, in Belgrade you can find a great number of apartments, hotels and hostels.

You can use public transportation, taxi, or rent a car. Car rental is probably the most optimal solution. Just make sure that your hotel room or apartment includes a parking lot.

What not to miss in Belgrade



It is not easy to give a concise answer to this question. What makes Belgrade widely known, certainly are: Kalemegdan Fortress, Knez Mihailova street and Skadarlija. But there is much more places, locations and attractions to see, to get a full impression of Belgrade and the people who live there.
Kalemegdan

Skadarlija


We would like to introduce you with some less known way to pass through Belgrade.

Belgrade walking tours. These are walking tours through Belgrade, a journey through space and time. Whether you choose to meet Sweet Belgrade, or decide to start Tesla's footsteps, you will hear and learn about Belgrade from a bit different perspective. The programs last about two or three hours.

Panoramic sightseeing of Belgrade. Another very popular way to get familiar with the city - an open tourist bus tour through Belgrade. During the tour, you can use an audio-guide in Serbian, English, Russian, French and German. This way you will learn a lot of relevant and interesting information about the places that you visited.



Belgrade underground. Did you know that Belgrade under Belgrade's hiding more than a hundred caves, tunnels, passages, which are related to various periods of its history? From the Romans, the Turks over to the Austro-Hungarians - all of them have left some trace. The tour is organized in Serbian and English language.

Belgrade from the rivers. A wonderful way to explore the city from this perspective. Look at Kalemegdan that will stay in my memory, as well as sailing under Belgrade bridges. You will see the place where the Sava joins the Danube. They say that at this point you should make a wish. Also, you can book cruises and tours that offer dinner on boat, and even to spend a night in luxurious cabins.



Jevremovac Botanical Garden. Another place to rest and relax in the center of the city. It spreads on over 5 hectares, and here you can find over 250 species of trees and over 750 species of plants, not just from this region. Ten years ago in, a Japanese garden was settled in a part of this complex. It is furnished and equipped in accordance with the Japanese culture and principles of design. For many tourists, it is the most beautiful and most romantic part of the complex.

Japanese garden


Planetarium. Astronomical Society "Rudjer Bošković" organizes screenings in the planetarium at Kalemegdan. The perfect way to get acquainted with the stars and constellations, the movement of the celestial sphere and other objects. You can see how the sky above the southern hemisphere looks like, and also the stars that we can never see. Screenings are held on Saturdays and they last about an hour.

Instead of conclusion


These are just some of the interesting places that you can visit in Belgrade. If you would like to feel the true spirit of this city, you need to visit its parks, markets, the surrounding holiday resorts... To go to the cinema or theater, visit the Book Fair, Beer Fest or Bemus. Whether you enjoy active holiday, or you need a few days of peace and relaxation, you can find a suitable place for yourself.

Belgrade city market


It is a city rich in culture and history, and has much more to offer. One thing is we know for sure - only one visit won't be enough.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Belgrade Apartments

Current situation on the market


Accommodation in apartments in Belgrade


We have already written about how Belgrade, as a tourist destination is important in the region and about its growing popularity in Europe. Old and new hotels aren’t fulfilling the need of guest accommodation in our capital. Looking up to the other European cities, hotel business in Serbia has evolved into something a bit different, such as renting apartments in resident buildings.

Those apartments can be single room, double room, three or four rooms.

The number of tourist is growing every year, which is the only and the best indicator of the growth in tourism in our capital city.


Advantage of the accommodation in apartments in Belgrade


The advantage of renting an apartment in Belgrade are superior the ones of hotels in Belgrade. The guests in apartments get the ability to feel the pulse of Belgrade more intensely. They are able to pick a location where they want to stay: at business-oriented, workaholic parts of Belgrade, or at the apartments that are located close to the popular clubs and bars. Numerous restaurants and food services offer a huge gastronomical diversity. It certainly is an advantage the possibility that depending on the accommodation capacity of the apartment guests to be placed in a:

  • one single room – two persons, 
  • two bedroom apartments – up to four people and all up to twelve people. 

It is possible to rent an apartment for a day, a week, a month, or whatever suits the guest.


Apartment locations in Belgrade


Most apartments for renting are situated in the old core of the city. The apartments that are usually rent are single room apartments for two persons, double room apartments that are usually rented are single room apartments for two, double room apartments for up to four people, and then multi room apartments for up to twelve people. Lately, New Belgrade is imposed as a stronger business, trade and leisure center in the region, therefore renting apartments in this part of the city has become much more popular and attractive. In many newly built, modern buildings it is also possible to rent a single, double or multi room apartments.

 Apartments in Belgrade – equipment


Every apartment in Belgrade, be it single room, double room or three rooms, has to pass through categorization, which means that it has to fill some standards and terms in order to make the guests feel safe and comfortable during their stay.

Standard equipment includes:

  • cable TV, 
  • air conditioning devices, 
  • free WIFI, 
  • a kitchen equipped with basic elements and devices, 
  • bed sheets and towels changed in proper terms. 

Some apartments include a parking lot.